The Con
by desespoir
Summary: “Why is Noah Puckerman staring at you?” Rachel/Puck. AU.
1. I listened in

Title: The Con

Author: desespoir

Pairing: Puck/Rachel

Notes: AU. Screw canon.

"Why am I here?"

Kurt rolled his eyes and examined his fingernails before his attention returned again to the football field in front of him. "Do you really need to ask?"

Rachel simply glared at him and stared at him expectantly.

"There's an entire field of young, robust, and attractive boys out there. Their uniforms are tight and besides, do you have anything better to do on a Friday night?" Before Rachel could answer, he interjected, "And watching _West Side Story_ is not the correct answer here."

"I was going to say _Phantom_ anyway," Rachel muttered under her breath. She crossed her arms around her chest and huffed. After about thirty minutes of alternating between squirming against the cold and hard bleachers and giving Kurt the stink eye, she glanced out on the field. She never could understand the American obsession with football. Life in Lima, Ohio seemed to be summed up by three things: football, boredom, and corn. She went to junior high in the middle of a corn field. Not many people could say the same. She tried her best to pay attention for another minute or two, ignoring Kurt's all-too-gleeful smile as he stared across the field, his eyes greedily drinking in every action. Whatever made him happy, she supposed.

She let out a sigh and reached into her bag, pulling out her French homework and pulled her pink sweatshirt tighter across her chest. There were only a few people that she would be willing to sit through such torture as a high school football game for and on the very top of that short list was Kurt Hummel.

He had been her best friend since before she could walk. And once they both overcame that obstacle, they had gotten into many more misadventures than she'd like to admit. When she was four, her dads had gotten her a box of dress-up clothes and shoes as a birthday present. They had attacked the treasure chest and spent hours preparing for their "grand debut" as Kurt had so excitedly called it. She would always remember the shock on everyone's face when she walked into the room, lipstick smeared all over her face, pearls hanging down to her knees, and her feet clunking in the all-too-big heels only to be followed by Kurt who was dressed very similarly to her only he had forgone the pearls and replaced it with a gigantic ruby ring on his right hand.

Rachel's face softened as her mind replayed these memories. She smiled goofily at Kurt, imagining him as he was so many years ago. She was ripped from her thoughts when Kurt snapped his fingers in front of her face.

"Did you hear what I said?"

She frowned at the hint of annoyance in his tone. "Attitude. And, no, I didn't."

"Why is Noah Puckerman staring at you?"

Rachel almost snorted out loud before she turned to the field and restrained a gasp. McKinley High had lost but that was not the surprise. Standing nearly 50-feet away was Noah Puckerman, all-around football stud and bully extraordinaire, staring daggers at her. Another one of the football players ran up behind him and nudged him in the arm and he finally tore his gaze away.

She shivered visibly before clearing her throat.

"That was bizarre and so incredibly juicy." Kurt raised an eyebrow, "Are you doing naughty things that you aren't telling me about?"

"No," Rachel said defensively, shaking her head adamantly, "There is no and there will never be anything naughty with that one."

"I wonder why he was staring."

"I'd rather not dwell too much upon this, Kurt. He was probably just staring off into the distance and I just happened to be in his line of sight." The explanation sounded weak to her own ears.

Kurt rolled his eyes and stood up, clapping his hands together, "Sounds like an investigation needs to be done. Perfect! I need a new project."

"This is not a project. I refuse to participate."

"Who said I needed your willing participation?"

"Kurt, I will stop letting you read my Glamour and Cosmo subscriptions."

He gasped, color flushing his cheeks in outrage, "That's a bit harsh, isn't it?" He put his hands on his hips before conceding, "Fine, I'll leave it alone."

"Good," Rachel said with a smile, "Now, I believe Christine and the Music of the Night await us."

-*-


	2. Yes, I'm guilty of this

-*-

"This is ridiculous."

"This is fabulous," Kurt said with a devious smile as he linked his arm around Rachel's. "You have to admit that free admission to your first football aftergame party is quite exciting."

"Kurt, we weren't even invited," Rachel whispered harshly, scandalized. She smiled brightly as a Cheerio walked, flashing her a fake grin. "This is awkward and incredibly embarrassing."

"Okay, Rach. The party is at Mike Chang's and he just so happens to live next door to you? That is a sign from God."

Rachel rolled her eyes and scoffed, "There is a party at Mike's house every other week and we have never crashed one before. Why now?" She narrowed her eyes and crossed her arms, "Is this about the staring because if it's about the staring-"

"No!" Kurt said dramatically, "It's not about the staring." He leaned in closer, invading her personal space. "Why? Is it about the staring? Because we can make it about the staring."

"I'm going home and going to bed."

"No, you are coming with me to this party."

"I am not. This is ridiculous. If you want to go to this party, you can go alone."

"Rachel Marie Berry! If you don't come with me, I'll show your dads that video of that night when we drank too many cosmos and you ended up belting out every song from _Wicked _and started stripping."

Rachel paused for a moment, her mouth opening and closing as she struggled to find the right words. "I hate you."

"You love me. Now, let's go."

-*-

Kurt had been gone for over six minutes as Rachel stood awkwardly by the wall, her eyes flitting back and forth. She took a small sip of her punch before scrunching up her nose in distaste. Whatever concoction this was, it was not in fact delicious as the drunken girls that ladled her the drink had claimed. She placed the drink on a nearby table and leaned against the wall yet again, closing her eyes for a moment. It would be so easy to just escape and go back home considering how she only lived two houses down but she couldn't abandon Kurt. No matter how much he deserved it at this moment.

"Tired, Berry?"

Rachel's eyes snapped open. Low and behold, in front of her stood Noah Puckerman, cocky smile and confident stance and all. She fumbled for words and stared back at him dumbly, "You know my name?"

She really was an intelligent person, she promised herself. No matter how hard that was to believe at the moment.

"We've been in the same school district since Kindergarten. Yes, I know your name."

She had no witty retort ready so settled for a contemplative "hmmm". Again, her brown eyes darted around the crowd, begging for Kurt to magically appear and save her from this conversation.

"I saw you at the game."

"So you did."

"I didn't know you go to football games."

She let out a small laugh and shrugged lightly. "It's not a normal pastime for me."

"You should come more often."

Rachel raised an eyebrow and looked up into his eyes for the first time, "Why?"

"Because I'm there."

She faltered for a moment before she answered. "I still fail to see a compelling reason."

He leaned in close, his face at the crook of her neck. She could feel his hot breath against her skin and resisted the urge to shiver. "Just give me the chance, Berry. I'd be more than happy to compel you."

With that, he shot her a confident smirk before turning on his heel and disappearing into the crowd.

-*-


	3. You should know this

-*-

It took approximately three minutes for Rachel Berry to regain conscious thought. Her eyes were still wide and bewildered when Kurt found her.

"The whole deer-in-the-headlights look isn't really working for you, Rach."

She couldn't even formulate a witty retort. She settled for smacking him on the arm and demanding where he had wandered off to for the past ten minutes.

"I was watching a fascinating game of flip cup."

She raised an eyebrow. "Was the game fascinating or were the guys playing it fascinating?"

"Definitely the latter," Kurt said with a smirk, "You know me so well. I'm sorry I got a little distracted. Anything interesting happen while I was gone?"

Rachel opened her mouth to tell him the strange "incident" that had just occurred but the words never came. She smiled tightly and looked to the floor. "Nothing really. I almost threw up after having a sip of the punch. It's vile."

She could feel his gaze narrowing and cleared her throat uncomfortably. "I'm tired. Can we go now? We've made our appearance even though I'm sure nobody even noticed."

Liar.

"I suppose," Kurt said slowly, still watching her carefully, "I need my beauty rest after all."

Rachel smiled brightly at him and linked her arm through his as they walked out the front door. She didn't spare a look back but if she did she would've seen Noah Puckerman standing at the top of the stairs, his gaze hardening as he watched them leave.

-*-

Rachel Berry did not lie. She had always been a firm believer that the truth would always find its way out at some point so lying was just an ineffective and pointless way of impeding that process. Thus, she never lied.

Not to her dads. Not to her friends. And most definitely not to Kurt Hummel.

Yet, she couldn't help but let that lie slip through her lips. She didn't even know why she did it. What did she have to hide? Absolutely nothing. All Kurt would've done was grill her for a few days but after a week, he would've found some other piece of gossip to latch onto. She should've told him.

But, she didn't. Noah Puckerman was a secret. He was her secret and for the first time in her life, she actually rather enjoyed having something that was just hers.

It was stupid though.

He wasn't hers. He had never spoken a single word to her before last night. The only previous interaction that she had with him were the daily slushy facials she received all of freshman year. That boy must've had a lot of spare change lying around. Slushies were fairly cheap but to buy one everyday to throw at someone – that added up. She calculated it once and it would save him $321.89 a year if he refrained from this hobby of his.

The start of sophomore year brought changes, apparently. She was going to football games now and Noah Puckerman had stopped throwing slushies in her face. Now, he just stared at her.

It was bizarre.

-*-

Glee club was in the middle of their usual warm-up vocal exercises when he walked through the door. Kurt's mouth dropped open while Artie, Mercedes, and Tina simply looked at each other in confusion. Quinn raised an eyebrow. Brittany glanced at Santana in worry while Santana crossed her arms, a frown firmly in place. Mike and Matt looked bored. Finn smiled. Mr. Schuester seemed to be the only person that wasn't surprised as he turned around and clapped a hand against the guy's back.

"Perfect. Guys, I want to introduce you to our newest baritone, Noah Puckerman."

His hand gestured shortly in what passed for a "hello".

"Take a seat, Puck. We're just running through our vocal exercises."

Rachel couldn't stop staring at him in surprise. She seemed to be doing that a lot lately. Her shock grew tenfold when he sat down next to her, pulling his chair all-too-close to her. She cleared her throat and raised her hand.

"Yes, Rachel?"

"Mr. Schuester, while I'm not opposed to broadening our talents and organization, isn't it a bit late in the semester to accept new members?"

She steadily avoided Noah's gaze, determined to not let him faze her.

"We're one person short of the qualification numbers for sectionals, Rachel. You know this. We need Puck."

She faltered and leaned back into her chair, still not sparing him a glance.

Mr. Schuester was working with Finn on the male solo while the rest of the group looked over the song list and music when he finally spoke.

"I didn't join for you if that's what you're thinking."

She ignored the butterflies in her stomach and the flush in her cheeks when she heard him speak. "I have not made any presumptions at all for your reasons behind joining Glee club."

She still refused to look in his direction. She could hear the smirk in his voice and was slightly tempted to slap the expression off his face.

"I can see those wheels turning in your head, Berry." He leaned in closer, under the guise of discussing the song list, "Have you been thinking about me?"

She scoffed, finally looking into his eyes for the first time. He looked intently into hers and in that moment, the entire world seemed to melt away. Her breath escaped her and all rational thought and clever responses all faded off into the distance.

His lips inched closer, his knee bumping into her leg.

Rachel jumped back as if she had been burned, quickly jolting her out of her daze.

"I should ask you the same question," she shot back before she stood up and walked out of the room.

-*-


	4. I broke down

Notes: The response/reviews for this story have been absolutely overwhelming! You are all amazing. Also, big kudos to everyone that got the Tegan & Sara reference. Hope you're not too disappointed by this chapter. This is called "The Con", after all. Enjoy!

-*-

Leaning down over the sink, Rachel splashed water on her face and took in a deep breath as she tried her best to calm her nerves. This was getting ridiculous. Why was she so affected by him? Before this past weekend, she had never even spoken to him and the only time he ever glanced in her general direction was to throw a slushie in her face. What was going on?

"I would never have pegged you as someone who would get flustered so easily."

Rachel wiped her face with a paper towel before whipping around. "How can I help you, Quinn?"

Quinn crossed her arms and cocked her head to the side, her eyes narrowing as she critiqued Rachel. "I have to admit that quite frankly I will never understand what he sees in you."

"Excuse me?" She was genuinely confused at this point.

"Don't pretend to be naïve. It doesn't suit you."

"Don't be cryptic," she retorted.

Quinn scoffed and rolled her eyes. "I didn't realize I had to add dense to the long list of your shortcomings. Let me make myself perfectly clear then." She stepped forward, her lips tightening. "Noah Puckerman is bad news. He is a bad guy. He hurts girls. He will hurt you. Don't flatter yourself into thinking that he actually likes you because he doesn't."

With that, Quinn walked out of the bathroom, her blonde ponytail swaying back and forth as Rachel simply stood there, a frown marring her pretty features.

She leaned back against the sink, her hands gripping the sides. She took in another deep breath.

What was going on?

-*-

The rest of Glee practice passed by without much excitement. When Rachel walked back into the room, she steadily avoided everyone's gaze and focused on the empty chair next to Kurt.

He was being strangely quiet, not even interrogating her between songs. Instead, he simply laid his hand on top of hers, giving her a tight squeeze. In return, she smiled softly to herself and laid her head on his shoulder. This was simple. This was easy. This was what she knew.

It was so much safer like this.

-*-

Kurt was in the middle of explaining to her the horrendous tragedy that was the new Kate Spade fall collection when she remembered that she had left her French book in her locker.

"Ughh. Major faux pas," Kurt had said before he rolled his eyes. "Well, go get it if you must. I'll wait for you in the car."

Rachel grinned at him and skipped off to her locker. She quickly found the book and stuffed it into her tote bag and gave a cursory glance at her pink floral-decorated mirror, double-checking her reflection. There, in the mirror, she saw him standing behind her. She gasped loudly and slammed her locker, turning to face him.

"Are you stalking me now?"

"Don't flatter yourself, Berry."

Quinn's words echoed through her mind and she steeled herself against him, reminding herself that this was Noah Puckerman. He was not her friend. He was not a romantic interest. He was nothing to her-- just the jerk that always made fun of her and threw cold, wet slushies in her face without any regard to her feelings.

"Well," she said with fake brightness, "This has been pleasant as always. Let's not repeat this." She made a move to walk away from him. His hand shot out and grabbed her elbow. His touch seared through her, the pads of his fingertips pressed into her skin, pressing softly but insistently. She tore her arm away from his and glared up at him.

Words escaped her when she saw the stormy expression his eyes held.

"I want a date."

"Excuse me?" she managed, proud that she wasn't stuttering.

"You heard me. I want a date."

"With me?" she asked stupidly. Her brain was having a hard time keeping up with the logic behind this conversation.

"Are you deaf and dumb? Yes."

"Charming," Rachel said acerbically. She started to walk away from him again, "The answer is no."

"Berry, wait." He made a move to grab her elbow again but this time she knew better and jumped away from him.

"What do you want from me, Noah? We have never even said so much as a single hello to each other in the past years that we've been in school together and now all of a sudden, you join Glee and want to go out with me?" She shook her head in disbelief. "Pardon me if I find this situation to be just a tad bit suspicious."

He let out a sigh, his shoulders heavy. He stepped closer to her. Rachel stood her ground, willing her knees not to shake from his close proximity. "I'm sorry," he said softly. "I just don't know how to do this."

Those were not the words she expected.

"I'm asking nicely, Berry. Please."

Her eyes widened. She definitely had never heard that word come out of his mouth before.

"One date."

Rachel bit her lip and ran her fingers through her hair. "Fine. One date. But, on my grounds." She dictated. "Okay, now I really have to go. Kurt is waiting. Good night."

She turned around and ran down the hallway, not sparing a second glance.

Noah Puckerman stood there, a satisfied smile on his face. "You can come out now, Q. Kind of pathetic, isn't it? Lurking around in the shadows."

"Shut your mouth, Puckerman." Quinn said harshly. "She's not going to fall for it, you know?"

"Trust me. I got this."

-*-


	5. and wrote you back

A/N: This is very much a Puck/Rachel fic. I absolutely love them together but that doesn't mean I can't have a little fun with them before they get there. If you haven't heard/downloaded the new Kurt/Rachel duet – GO DO IT RIGHT NOW. It is amazing. Btw, I am not a fan of Puck/Quinn at all. So, rest assured.

"Are you okay?"

Rachel's hand dangled in mid-air, the popcorn still in her palm. She stared at Kurt and cleared her throat uncomfortably. Damn it, she should be a better actress than this. This was Kurt. She had never had to act around him before. He never gave her a reason to. He had always accepted her as she was and that was what she loved about him.

So, why couldn't she tell him? She still couldn't figure it out even in her own mind. She shrugged a little and tried her best to stick as close to the truth as possible. "I just think Mr. Schuester is making a bad decision letting all these new people join Glee club." She nibbled on a piece of popcorn. "You know as well as I do that Quinn and the rest of the Cheerios are only here on Sue Sylvester's orders."

"And Puck?"

She bit her lip. Damn him for being so perceptive. "I just think he's bad news."

Kurt shrugged, his eyes darting back to the television screen momentarily. "I think beneath all that macho bravado there's a good guy."

She didn't know what to say to that. Instead of answering, she snuggled further into the couch and stuffed another handful of popcorn into her mouth. She chewed thoughtfully. "Why do you think he joined?"

"I'm not sure but I bet it's for a girl."

Rachel nearly choked on her popcorn but swallowed it quickly. "What?" She kept the tremor out of her voice and tried her best to sound as calm as possible.

"I bet it's because of Quinn Fabray."

She frowned at that. "Why? I thought they barely liked each other. It seems like the only reason they deal with one another is because of Finn."

Kurt laughed lightly and shook his head. "You have much to learn, darling. Trust me on this one. There's something going on between those two."

-*-

Rachel pushed the hair back from her face as she read, her gaze flitting across the gigantic textbook in front of her. She was in the middle of reviewing her notes when she heard a chair slide away from the table, the legs screeching against the tile floor.

She narrowed her eyes at the intruder before she realized who was standing in front of her. Her face was colored with disbelief and confusion. "Noah?"

"So, this is where you hide, Berry."

She looked around hastily, relaxing more when she realized no one was around them. "I didn't expect the library to be a place where you frequent."

"Well, when you weren't in the auditorium or the rehearsal room, I figured there were only a handful of other places you could be."

She raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms. "You really seem to have taken a liking to following me around." She cocked her head to the side. "It's disorienting."

"What can I say? I just love the way you look when you get all uncomfortable. It's hot." He shot her a sexy grin.

She rolled her eyes and stared at him pointedly. "You obviously want something. What is it?"

"The details to our date—you have yet to tell me and I've given you plenty of time."

"You've barely given me 24 hours, Noah." She shuffled her papers around. "I haven't really put much thought into it."

Lies. It had been all she could think of in the past day. She just couldn't come up with the right date idea, however. Everything she thought of seemed more fitting for a night out with Kurt and she had an inkling that was something Noah Puckerman would probably not enjoy. She didn't know why she cared so much but she felt like she had something to prove – that she could be a fun date and that she wasn't psychotic or as obsessed with musicals as everyone believed. She was not just the girl that made Myspace videos and had the amazing voice behind the enviable body. There was more to her than that. She was fiercely intelligent. She was driven.

She was better than that. She was better than them. She was better than Quinn Fabray.

For some reason, she found that her greatest desire now was to prove that and prove herself. It was the strangest feeling especially considering a week ago, she could've cared less about what he thought about her.

It mattered now and that scared her. She felt strangely vulnerable.

"Well, start thinking."

She shrugged uncommitedly and returned to reading, assuming that he would leave and do whatever he did at this time. Instead, he sat down across from her. Rachel peered up at him through her lashes and saw that—low and behold!—he was reading a book.

A book. Noah Puckerman read.

"I can feel you staring at me, Berry."

"I'm staring at your book. Why are you reading the Norton Anthology of Romantic Poetry?"

"Because I'm taking poetry with Corsey this year."

"And you're actually doing the homework."

He shot her an annoyed look. "It's been known to happen from time to time. I do have to maintain a minimum GPA to stay on the football team and Glee, you know."

She had the decency to blush and look embarrassed. She stopped making comments after that and so, they stayed there, both reading in easy silence.

-*-


	6. before you had a chance to

-*-

How did they get here?

She had started off her afternoon with her usual ritual. She was a creature of habit, after all. On days when she doesn't have Glee practice after school, she stays after anyway, practicing on her own for an hour before she retreats to the library and studies for two hours.

Then Noah Puckerman showed up.

And, he fit. She really never thought she'd say that. Sure, they had bickered playfully for a bit but after that, he read quietly and didn't disrupt her studies. She finished all her art history reading and preparing her flashcards in those two hours. That had never happened before.

Now she was sitting in his car as he drove her home. She tapped her fingers against her thighs, her body unconsciously following the beat of the music playing on the radio. It was all so surreal.

She closes her eyes for a moment and lets out a deep sigh. She's tired of thinking.

The hand is rough and soft against her cheek. She can feel the pads of his fingertips graze across her skin and her eyes snap open.

"I'm sorry." She says softly, embarrassed. "I didn't mean to fall asleep."

"Rough day?"

Rachel just laughs and shakes her head. "Something like that." She looks out the window and sees that they've stopped in her driveway. She gives him a shy smile and a muttered 'thanks' before she rushes out of the car. Away from the confusion and jumble of emotions that was Noah Puckerman.

She couldn't think when she was around him. Slowly but surely, she could feel the control and grip she had so tightly wrapped around her hands slip away.

It was almost freeing.

She waved goodbye as she stepped through the front door. It was only when she got upstairs to her room that she realized that she didn't have to give him any directions at all.

He knew exactly where she lived.

-*-

Finn Hudson was charming in that boyish idiotic way.

Right now, however, Rachel was not charmed. Instead, she was incredibly annoyed. She crossed her arms and glared in his general direction.

"Whew," Kurt said teasingly as he bumped Rachel in the shoulder, "If looks could kill, you vixen."

The glare immediately melted off her face and she just grinned back at him. She shook her head. "He needs to learn how to read music. It's ridiculous how much time we waste each practice because the male lead can't tell middle C from high B." She sighed. "This is why I keep telling Mr. Schuester that we have to be selective in our membership."

Kurt stared at her in shock. "I never thought that applied to Finn Hudson."

Rachel faltered for a moment. "Well, you have to admit that it is a rather necessary skill in any form of choir." She bit the inside of her lip and shuffled her feet. "I would even be willing to tutor."

Kurt linked his elbow through hers. "You do too much already." He looked in Finn's direction. "Let him do this for himself. He needs it. He can't rely on you all the time."

She nodded, hearing the truth in his words. Goodness knows how many hours she had already spent in the practice room with him, running through the music, helping expand his vocal breadth. She didn't need to do any of it yet when he flashed that crooked smile at her, she couldn't help but feel flutters in her stomach and all rational thought seemed to escape her mind.

That was two weeks ago. Now, when she looked at him, she couldn't help but feel a creeping sense of annoyance and frustration. He had been using her. Even before, she wasn't naïve and stupid enough to ignore that fact. He had Quinn yet whenever he needed something, he never hesitated to manipulate her and use her.

She hated that feeling. She hated to be made a fool.

-*-

"That man is a slave driver."

Rachel laughed at his apt characterization. "Sectionals is coming up. We need the practice."

"I know, I know," Kurt rolled his eyes, "Sectionals. We're not quite there. Practice. Practice. Practice." He stopped at his locker and grabbed a few books. "Even so, three hours of after school practice is a bit unnecessary. All that fluorescent is not good for my skin. I asked Mr. Schue to put on some ambient lighting but he clearly did not listen to my suggestion. Have you seen the wrinkles on that man's forehead, Rach? He's not even 30!"

Rachel giggled at his outrage and stayed quiet as he continued his rant.

They were both interrupted by a towering figure. She could feel his shadow immerse her. She turned around and tried her best to smile. "Hey Finn."

"Rach! I was wondering if you could stay after with me for a bit. I really want to get that-"

Kurt closed his locker with a bit more force than was necessary and stepped out in front of her. "We have plans for tonight so she's busy." He added as an afterthought. "Sorry."

Finn looked confused for a moment before he smiled again, looking at Rachel pleadingly. "It'll only be an hour. I promise."

Rachel knew better than anyone that it would be another two or three hours before she could leave. It was always like that. She could hear the strangled noise of disapproval from Kurt and pushed him aside gently.

She looked up at Finn and stood her ground firmly. "I'm sorry, Finn, but I can't. I'm busy." She looked around him and saw that Quinn was standing at the door of the practice room, rage in her eyes. "Perhaps you can ask your significant other to assist you," she said sweetly.

With that, she turned around and walked off, arm-in-arm with Kurt.

-*-


	7. forget forgotten

Puck had just finished putting the last book in his backpack when he heard the very distinct footsteps rush up to his locker and then the slam of his locker door. He raised an eyebrow and leaned against the wall.

"What's got your virginal white panties in a twist?"

"You are useless." Quinn sneered, crossing her arms across her chest. "I thought you could seduce anyone. That was the claim, wasn't it?" She cocked her head to the side. "It looks like Rachel Berry is the exception."

"It's barely been a week, Q." He looked slightly amused. "I've planted the seeds. Give it time."

"I don't have time." She seethed, unclenching her fists. "I don't understand what bizarre spell that thing has got Finn under but I am sick and tired of seeing them twirling on stage and making lovey dovey eyes at each other."

"Leave him then." He tried to keep the hope out of his voice.

She rolled her eyes and stared at him, annoyed. "Can you really be that stupid?" She let out a small laugh. "I will never leave Finn for you so you can stop fantasizing."

His gaze hardened and he turned to walk away. She reached out and caught the crook of his arm. His skin tingled from her touch and he cursed himself yet again for falling for the one girl who would never love him or see him as a person of worth.

"I will give you what you want though." She looked up at him through her lashes. She stepped closer and gently caressed his forearm, an illusion of intimacy. Her breath was warm against his neck. "Hurry up though. I'm impatient."

With that, she turned on her heel and walked down the hall.

Puck closed his eyes wishing he could remember all the sensations he was feeling in that moment forever— the warmth of her body against his and the feel of her breath against his neck.

The moment passed. He opened his eyes. The hallway empty and he was cold and alone yet again.

Noah Puckerman was the last person she expected to see standing in front of her with a present no less. She tried her best to hide the surprise in her face.

He was holding a slushie cup.

She couldn't help herself. It was instinct. She closed her eyes and braced herself for the impact. When she didn't feel the cold ice numb her skin, burn, and then slide down her face she carefully opened one eye.

Why was he looking at her like that again?

"Here." He held it out for her.

She stared at it like it was poison. Slowly, she reached out and grabbed the cup from his hand, ignoring the warmth of his skin.

"Thank you." She said softly. She looked down at the cup and took a slow sip. "Grape. My favorite."

"I know."

She didn't bother to hide her surprise this time. "Wha-"

"You licked your lips the last time I threw one in your face."

She didn't know if she should be touched at the fact that he noticed that or annoyed and mad at the fact that he used to throw slushies in her face all the time. She settled on a cross being a smile and a grimace.

"Later, Berry."

She mumbled an indiscriminate reply and walked to her first class, still in a daze. It was a stupid move on her part because as soon as she walked through the door, Kurt's gaze narrowed on the slushie she was holding.

"Isn't it a little early for artificially flavored, colored, and sweetened drinks?"

Rachel down uncomfortably and pushed the slushie as far away from her as she could on the desk. "I was thirsty."

"And so you decided to make a quick trip to 7-11? How did you even have time?"

She was at a loss for words. She couldn't lie to him anymore. She let out a sigh and folded her hands. "I didn't get it."

Kurt stared at her expectantly.

"Noah got it for me."

She expected screaming, yelling, outrage, curiosity, and demands for explanation. What she did not expect was Kurt to lean back against his chair, looking at the slushie cup perceptively. "Hmm."

"What?" She looked at him questioningly. "What do you mean 'hmmm'?"

"Nothing." He said with a small smile.

"What do you mean 'nothing'? I know that look, Kurt. That never means 'nothing'."

"It's just a slushie, Rachel." He said with a sweet smile.

The teacher walked into the room and began lecture before she could interrogate him any further.


End file.
